terrifiedChildren are used in wars taking place in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Burma.

In the civil war in Sierra Leone children fight for both the rebels - the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the pro-government local militia, the Kamajors. The Kamajors do much of the front-line fighting for the government and the West African peace-keeping force, ECOMOG.

Often after the RUF attacks a village they abduct the surviving children. The children, many of whom have seen their parents slaughtered, are then removed to special camps. Those children who escape often join the Kamajors who give them shelter and food.

For the last 50 years there has been conflict in Burma between the government and rebel ethnic minorities. 15-year-old Zaw Tun fought in the Burmese army.

captiveIn the RUF camps in Sierra Leone, the traumatised children are held and 'trained' usually for about two or three months.

The children are told they will be killed if they disobey orders or try to escape.

Often they undergo a brutal initiation and have to kill or maim those who have attempted to flee.

In the Kamajors the children are initiated into 'secret societies'. By following the rules of these 'societies' the boys are told that they will gain magical powers.

They come to believe that the 'juju' (magic) will protect them and stop the enemy bullets.

combat The development of lighter weapons - such as the AK47 - means that boys as young as eight can be armed.

The smallest boys are placed closest to the enemy. In war, they are said to be fearless. Children are often less demanding soldiers than adults. They are cheaper to keep as they eat less and are easier to manipulate. Both sides believe the unpredictability of small children makes them better fighters. Some are sent into battle high on drugs to give them courage.

The Burmese military regime also uses children in combat. The children work as slave labourers, carrying army supplies or working on government construction projects.

More than anything, the former child soldiers want peace and the chance to go to school. Many of the girls dream of becoming nurses. Some of the boys want to be priests.

hope Rehabilitation of the child soldiers is a difficult process. The children have been brutalised and have carried out killings. They have wielded life-and-death power over adults often in their local communities. The armies using them have fed, clothed and given them shelter.

There are projects in Mozambique, Angola and Somalia helping former child soldiers. At the Marka Militia Rehabilitation Center in Somalia, Abdi is training to be a fisherman.

In Sierra Leone Rose works at an orphanage for escaped soldiers. However, for the majority of child soldiers in Sierra Leone as long as the civil war continues they will be forced to fight.